Richard J. Stringer, Ph.D.

My research agenda generally centers on drug and alcohol policy with a special interest in drunk driving policy and advanced quantitative methods. I also have substantive interests in other areas such as law and society, courts and sentencing, and policing. My analytical perspective focuses on the way society reacts to substance use and the effect that these reactions have on society. Thus, the interaction of law and society is generally a common theme in my research. For example, I have found that public opinion about marijuana legalization is related to media more than actual marijuana use, that proposed changes in DUI policy will likely have little impact on fatal crashes while drastically increasing DUI arrests, and drug sentencing outcomes are greatly influenced by extralegal social factors such as racial and economic inequality. Currently my drunk driving research is being funded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Some examples of my prior reseach are provided below.